John Rabe

Not quite "Schindler's List" but very very close. This German bio-pic is very high on production quality, drama, tension-breaking humor, and excellent acting. It may be very hard to watch for some - the atrocities of war often are.

Ulrich Tukur plays a German business exec who turns superhero to scores of Chinese citizens during the Japanese invasion in the winter of 1937. His connections with both the Nazi party and Siemens Corporation saved countless innocent lives.

After the siege he returned to Germany and was branded a traitor, the journal he kept was lost for decades. This movie is told directly from the pages of his own writings.

Steve Buscemi does his best acting to-date playing a cynical American doctor at the time. He even does a very funny song and dance routine. The rest of the cast is excellent but most of us won't recognize many names.

The dialogue is a mix of English, German, Chinese, and Japanese. It is very easy to keep up.

Watch this movie with someone who thinks they know all the WWII stories.

Nordwand (North Face)

This German film rocks! This film is both visually and mentally stunning. The photography is first rate and helps the audience feel right on the mountain. The director referred to it as "worm's view" of the action. Very apt. The story is compelling from both a human and historical point of view.

Benno Fürmann is brilliant as the lead of this hell-bent team of climbers. Florian Lukas is his ever-enthusiastic climbing partner. These two play German heros who were part of the pre-WWII competition to climb "the last problem of the Alps", the north face of the Eiger in Switzerland.

Johanna Wokalek plays a Berlin photo-journalist who was a childhood friend of the duo who returns to report on their efforts. Ulrich Tukur plays her smarmy boss.

The film in many contrasts at the same time. The audience is taken from the cold of the mountain to the warmth of the lodge. From the absolutism of the Third Reich to the moderation of their Swiss and Austrian neighbors. The film is a delicious ride up and down the peaks of emotion.

Watch this with someone who has some experience climbing rocks of any size.

Séraphine

Like any good tragedy this story is filled with mirth, suspense, and heartbreak. Because it's based on real events we know how is ends. But like many other biopics this movie gives us a taste of lives and events leading up to what we already know.

If you have never heard of Séraphine of Senlis, and I'm guessing most of us have not, this story will enlighten you. Séraphine Louis was a hard-working resident of Senlis, France during the last half of the 1800s and first half of the 1900s. As one biographer put it she was a religious fanatic who walked a tightrope between ecstasy and mental illness. In the end, the illness consumed her.

She is played brilliantly by Yolande Moreau. Her sole Patron during her life was Wilhelm Unde played here by Ulrich Tukur. Were it not for him Séraphine's work would most likely never have been seen.

In French and German with English subtitles this movie actually has less dialogue than one might expect. The scenery is wonderful, the colors are fitting a movie about art and artists.

Watch this movie with someone who suffers for their art.